Hot hatches | Top Gear
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- čas přidán 8. 11. 2010
- Which hatchback is the hottest: the Renault Megane, Vauxhall Astra VXR or Golf GTi? Jeremy Clarkson puts the insanely powered Astra through its paces out on the Top Gear track before judgement time back in the studio.
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"It's understeering like a shopping trolly full of logs"
I NEVER get enough of Jeremy's analogies !
Or like a fat cow on ice
9 years ago loll
11 years
@@hughthompson4846 And I still can't get enough of his analogies.
@@AymanB You were quick to reply! And I agree, hope you are doing well
"There are many options available for this car but there's only one it really needs: a strait jacket."
Or a limited slip diff.
The later Opel/C`Vauxhall sporty models have LSD, so they learned from it.
@@redevilrrr Yep, my favorite one, the 2013 Astra OPC/VXR had one, so they definitely learned from it!
A straight jacket gives you limited slip.
Or any general attempted movement, really.
I though you were dead
A rear roll bar has totally transformed my standard vxr, b14s made it even better on top of that👌🏻
Stig: *spins golf off the track a bit*
Jeremy: “He nearly DIED!”
that car is so planted though, he wasn't gonna roll it.
the Vauxhall is perfect for NASCAR since all they do is turn left.
wild bill lol ha
😂
wild bill They don’t though..
Clayton Whitacre yes they do hahah, half my family have owned one and they’ve all done the same. My mother had a 16plate VXR and it did the same. Then a year later needed a new engine. Only had 3k miles.
wild bill lol
Car: almost kills stig
Jeremy: so you see it's a great car. Brilliant.
that car is so planted though, he wasn't gonna roll it.
The Astra VXR will always be my favourite hot hatch, both this version and the latest one.
Why is that? The Megane, Honda Tyre R and and the Hyundai i30 N are better alternatives
@@NeedMoarRage I definitely love the Astra's styling.
The alternatives aren't bad, but I doesn't look as good as the Astra, especially the latest gen Civic Type R. God, it's so fugly!
"IT NEARLY KILLED HIM!... so you see, it's BRILLIANT"
Astra VXR has got it all, good looks, nice sound, cheap price and its crazy rapid! who cares about a little torque steer? i would still put a astra VXR before a Focus ST or a Renaut Megane anyday
My father bought me a few years ago an Opel Astra 2011 for university and I swear it is the fastest small car I have ever to date. It would go 220kp/h easily and even though it was a 1.7 would beat all 2.0 bmw, mercs and vw.
bro that was my b class car of choice back in motorsport 4 haha
Love Opel!❤️👍🏻🙏
So many bald guys in the background
rezza rafee Cancer is a common disease in the UK
petrolhead, slaphead,minions!
@Oggy dont like it fuck of coming over here nob
@Oggy too much fluoride and minerals/hard water
@@joeyfretwell3403 I’ll keep coming to the UK an taking ya women. I’ll also take some of that free benefit you pasty gammon looking nob heads 😂 you’ve all got bad teeth too.
goes to show a good chassis is timeless. They are always sought after years later for track cars and modding. a weak chassis will be cumbersome even with a better engine.
I miss having them on the show.
"On the show" ? They Are the show
Stig's a consummate professional. I like how he backed over the finish line.
Europeans get the best compacts
lolz 4 us
Americans get the best Muscle Cars
Nothing Here 😂😂
the only other ones who produce compacts are Japanese..
@@nothinghere7391 well we get the VXR8 and I guess you can call the C63 AMG a muscle car
0:11 The exhaust looks like a mini usb port
The times when 240 hp in a hot hatch was a lot 😂 you can get around 450hp in the new a45s 😂
0-60 in 3.9 seconds aswell.
The astras are 15 year old cars now its pretty impressive! Im just wanting 300 out of my astra vxr when i rebuild it never selling it i dont care if its slower because its so much fun to drive!
Not proper hot hatches in my opinion. Too much technology taking the raw feel and fun away..and too much power it can't put down around a B-road
@@baker6928 I agree, I think you'll like the new Suzuki swift sport, 140bhp, front wheel drive, and it weighs less than a tonne.
@@humanperson4605 a good example of power to weight. Something manufacturers overlook when chasing numbers as per. I do like how the new swift sports look, I bet they're fun to hoon about.
The time when 240 HP on a Hot Hatchback is like puting 1000+ HP on a Supercar. And yet today, Hot Hatchback are creeping the power to 400+ HP. Basically just under the original Gallardo
They're barely reach 300hp atm
@@martythemk3fiesta59 both the Focus RS, Civic Type R and the Golf R have 310+ horses.
The Merc AMG A45 has almost 450 horsepower.
Around the same power as the Ferrari 360 too
but they're all awd.
the song in the beginning is the theme from van helsing :D
"So if a butterfly flaps it's wings in China, you're going into a tree." ROFL
That only happens in China
Just got myself a megane rs 265, and I couldn't be happier! It blew my mind when I first drove it
Exactly......Renault Sport use a separate chassis for the performance cars than what the rest of the range have
Almost all other manufacturers just stiffen, lower and tweak the standard chassis
Upshot is, anybody who thinks a VXR is a well sorted car just has no clue.........they won't know what a Megane is
Well, it's more often than not the best drivers car in it's class by a country mile
Only a Civic Type R approaches the game with a similar rawness
@@thetwincams6252 I have the 225 the amount. Of people it surprises is very funny vxrs are. Over rated
@@specialops9710 VXR are extremely overrated yes.........as for the 225.......wonder if they will become highly sought after, now that the Renault Sport brand is virtually dead? The 225 started the brand......they were Williams before then..........the R26 was very good, had a LSD fitted
@@thetwincams6252 ye i can see them becoming sought after soon from what I can gather online there's less than 500 on the road to date so I'm keeping mine just in case 😂 I would love an r26 but abit out my price range so got my self a 225 brilliant cars a pig to work on but brilliant especially on b roads through country sides
@@specialops9710 Well, with numbers like that, definitely worth keeping......this car loving band has similar ideas......lead singer Matt won't let his S2000 go........however, Tim has decided to let his Clio 200 go........but is being replaced with a Megane 265
Astra OPC/VXR was a really fast hothatch! It was so fast like some cars of a "higher level" and you expected to turn like those cars... That's why some people who are "normal" drivers can not turn it like they fantasize it 😂! Astra proved back then that it was fast and was not as shit as these guy here want to show us it is, in Nurburgring laps
Back in 2007 I test drove all 3 of these, a Civic Type R and Focus ST, and eventually ended up buying a new Focus ST3, for me it was the best all rounder and had the best engine (2.5 5cyl) but I have to say the Astra was the most fun car of the lot to drive, the Civic was a disappointment, the Megane felt like it would fall apart and the Golf felt the slowest and was a bit boring.
Golf Mk5 Is 💩
Yet the megane is the best on track
I wish it had better steering feel, my chevy cobalt (basically the same car except sold in america and without a hatchback) doesn't have much at all. I have the base model engine though, and can't really tell how much grip is has compared to other cars because my tires are a bit old (too expensive to buy new tires for a car I don't like that much)
The astra still looks the most modern, unlike the megane and golf which look really dated now.
shaun cross I disagree, I think the Mk5 GTi has aged the best but I'd still have the Mégane by far
@@TheStigHCE09 the megane looks great in fact I’ve bought one last week
@@TheStigHCE09 the GTi looks bland and terrible
The vaux looks like a sandero 1 in the front
one of my cabs is a vectra sri diesel with the ex pack on it with the snow flake 19" alloys on it. and it still looks and goes really great . matches are insignia's too. love my vauxhalls .
Funny that the vxr made it round the track yet the golf spun and nearly killed stig. So how the golf be a better car.
rebelrickb lol XD
rebelrickb it's a classic name
That's why
Because he is against Vauxhall
Because Jeremy thinks purely based on his biases and prejudices and never looks at anything logically or objectively.
I would pick either the Astra or Golf, the Megane is just too ugly
I've got a VXR and it doesn't understeer like that at all, does torque steer but heres a tip to defeat it.. HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL.
You never go fast enough or turn hard enough to see it
@@Akkbar21 coilovers would solve the problem
Obviously you should be the new stig
Adds character imo
Your car is still shit though
I have a normal Astra and it was built in 2009 and it's still as tight as a drum
Randoms mandoms mine was built in 2007 and the previous one in 2006. Both solid considering theyre over 100k miles
Mine is made in 2007 over 300k km... Never had major engine problem
Got an 05 2.0 SRi with a K04 vxr turbo in. My engine isn't happy haha. Need the head repairing. Amazing power difference without tuning. Can't wait to see what she does with a stage 2 remap.
I’ve got an Astra SXI 1.7 CDTI 56 plate and it’s on 175k. Still drives like new
However the engine seized up at 60k miles and bought a 2011 astra instead
vw gti more dangerous than some supercars around the top gear test track
The mk2 astra GTE was the bollocks back in the day
Ashton Worth my dad had 2 of them
@@tylert6573 16v's?
@@ashtonworth6288
Belive it or not, spoke to him he had 3 a black 1.8 8v then a 2.0 white 8v then a 2.0 16v In red that was the c20xe
I had a white 16v and now have a vxr .astra is underrated for price
Had a 2014 Astra diesel with still the old 1.7, but it was a rocket with 'only' 130 HP.
Had to sell it as I wasn't driving long enough distances anymore.
Apart from the shait DPF (that every diesel post 2010 has) it was a great car, fast, comfortable, roomy and nice (enough) looking.
4:58 Ohhhh Lionel Messssiiiiii
Well now it would've been interesting comparing these against a Mazda 3 MPS and a Seat Leon Cupra.
I really like this OPEL Astra H OPC !
I’ve been in the back of an Astra VXR down country roads, and man, it’s quick.
1:12 track id anyone?
I still wish they offered a VXR package for the Saturn version... even if it was a DIY kit...
@SPECTRE Yes. Saturn got the 2005(?)-2008 Opel Astra as a 3 or 5 door hatchback. XE was the base trim. I had the XR with optional "Sport Handling"
@SPECTRE I LOVED mine. Unfortunately I was rear ended and after the ordeal of finding parts was complete, it got sold to a neighbor.
Then it wouldn't be called the VXR nor the OPC, more like the Astra Red Line.
The engine progress they refer to is amazing. But since then it's only got more impressive. Now the latest rs3 produces a similar power to the Ferrari 360 and that car only went out of production 14 years ago. This 308 in the clip was far older when this was filmed.
Love the Orwell reference.
The Van Helsing soundtrack is a good fit for motor races!
the GTI is my fav and I will be getting one this coming January
Yeah I love GTI's & Golf R's, they're still the best all-rounder Hot Hatch & best for everyday usability, but I think this year I'll have to give the pure performance factor to the Astra. Quite a bit more tasty looking than the other hatches & has the MOST mature & stylish interior. But....end of the day....I would always fall back on the Golf :)
Check out a Focus ST as well, you'll be pleasantly suprised
Outdoor Aesthetics hope you got one dude
Outdoor Aesthetics still have it?
Boring cars and handle like jellies
How far things have come, with the incredible Civic Type R pushing 316bhp through the front wheels so well!
Because its newer
@@MrRohanThomas imdeed. And the amount of progress during that time I find impressive!
There was a 3.7L alfa 147 with 330hp that did 1:30 round the track
Remember when there was EDM in the backround of Car Shows? Reminds me of Grand Tourismo on the PS1.
I love that first part
0:00-0:14 squat squat squat squat
vauxhall rock!! The mrk5 shape will hold it's style for a good few years to come but the new Astra mrk6 shape tho not great but the mrk6 with a pack looks good
it looks lovely in blue OPC colour
i own a vxr and i do agree with top gear to a certan extent it does understeer but only when u give it to much to handle i mean i put it into a corner i would take in a car at 35mph but i put my vxr in at 70 mph !!! and it did understeer a bit but i was going far to fast for the car to handle .ive had a race with a magane and i blew it into next week going through some lanes a few corners and i was gone and for the golf not worth the fuel lol ps bridgestone tyres is a must on the vxr
No you didn't
Everybody always talking about the GTI and in the mean time you get more for your buck with a Vauxhall. Every time and in every way that counts!!!
Kenneth Hymering that's why the vauxhall 59 plate insignia that I bought fell victim to a very common fault after 2 months where the oil pump fails 😂😂 I bought it November 2017 and it died January 2018. Vauxhalls answer when questioned about why there were no recalls on the vehicle were because they "were unaware of the fault and it's an old car so what do you expect" meanwhile all the CDTi engines seem to have same oil pump common fault. I would never drive a vauxhall again after that. Cheaply made.
@@ChaseEverything it's common? had a astra cdti for 10 years engine is strong, the gearbox isn't as good
@@czrptr6849 yours is the 1.9 his the 2.0 , the problem that destroys the engine is a few ££ oring from the pickup to the oil pump, once it fails you loose oil pressure and destroy the engine. And regards Vauxhall it's like meeting a stunning lady but when she wakes up in the morning she looks rough as a dog, on the surface it seems you get a lot for your money but you soon realise the materials are poor, fit and finish is not up to the standard of the Germans, and overall quality, you test drive a 200k bmw / vw and then a 200k vauxhall, the latter will be falling apart. No hat on Vauxhalls I've owned many and only when moving to a German car I seen why there cheap.
You mean other than handling and practicality?
ford focus RS :D
Very good !
The second generation Honda Odyssey for North America, form the years 2002-2004, also had 240 horse power.
in fairness clarkson does like the astra vxr and as standard it is abit crap i was disappointed with it but after getting rid of the 19" wheels for 18" toyo proxies r888 dropped 30 mm on ebiach pro sport springs and a whiteline adjustable anti roll bar it handles really well and a decent remap to get rid of the crap standard vauxhall map add in piano black surround blue smd conversion and nice touch screen radio its a nice place to be (and remove all vauxhall badges) wouldnt swap it for any other hatchback asides a new focus st
Chris Stickland focus st i would never get because
Ford stands for
Found
On
Roadside
Dead
Simple ford
@@hegamer4372 fix or repair daily I think is the quote
Huh
@@hegamer4372that’s weird, cus everyone I’ve known with a Vauxhall, including my parents and my older brother, had endless problems, while the people i’ve known who’ve had Fords (including myself in the past) rarely have problems. The Mk2 Focus handled better than the Astra H too.
I still love my GTI :)
Miss this old good times
The exhaust diameter is smaller than my cupholders
The golf is the perfect teenager's car
You can flip it without much effort
an average teenager couldnt insure a golf tbh
I just bought the astra vxr on a 10plate an I love it,I'm not going to be joyriding it all over some estate like the stig was so I don't need to worry about how its going to handle at high speed in corners,as long as I have the power to smoke someone on a striaght at the lights its all good,and it does pull to the left a little but that's just the rar power:)
i 100% agree
i have one and its not that bad to drive its amazing
I have Opel Vauxhall Astra GTC.....It's a great machine....on the Road Is a fantastic car....fast and agile!!!!....never a problem , great reliability!!!!
the astra is the fastest, best looking and most affordable...that makes it the best hot hatch... would love to see how it would perfom against the Ford Focus RS
"if you see one of these cars burning rubber and slewing round the estate where you live, don't call the police, it won't be a yobbo, it'll be your next door neighbour just trying to drive to work"
i've got an astra and he really isn't kidding hahah
0:49 What song is this?
hey top gear post the video of Clarkson doing a lap of his velvet gti
Actually a pretty decent little car that Vauxhall
They are leaving out two major players in the Hot hatch market. MazdaSpeed 3 and Subaru WRX STI
Focus RS/ST?
Brent Gibala
There have been RS models since the first generation of the Focus
lyianx There was no STI hatch back when this was filmed
Which was when? They have had hatchbacks since 08
lyianx This episode was filmed in 2005
This video was actually published 1 day before I was born! My dad owns an Astra. He got it in 2007. I sometimes drive it in an empty parking lot. Turns out that manual transmissions aren't difficult to drive!
Why the word "Logs" was edited at 5:12?
What did he say instead? :)
get a grande punto abarth esseesse, gtech upgrade and there you go. rallye car sick
wew
Is it just me or is the MKV better looking than the MKVI? MKVII is pretty hot, though..
it's just u
Woody Ridenour Mk3-Mk5 is a bad looking car. Mk6 just made a revolution on the golf line. Mk7 is the better version of Mk6.
MK6 revolution? what the hell? The MK6 was little more than a facelift of the MK5 line. Mechanically and structurally very, very similar. It was the MK5 that was the total do-over from the MK4 and 3. Trust me, I've worked on them. MK5 and MK6 are nearly identical, whereas there's virtually nothing in common between the MK4 and 5.
mk1 looked very good
mk2 looked incredible
mk3 could look ok (with minor modifications)
mk4 looked awful (except r32)
mk5 looked ok at the time but is now dated
mk6 looks good
mk7 looks good
MK1 & MK2 are the best.
"And it's good if you want to go left" lmao
I like the MKVI R's personally! Look awesome!
Wait, hold everything.
The Vauxhall has a 1:33:0.
The Bugatti Veyron has a 1:18:3.
I don't know about you, but I think that is a little too close.
the GTI and it always will be
I think I wrote it wrong
***** So sad
Yeop i agree, Peugeot GTi all day
astra opc
Astra is better
I like that Vauxhaull Astra VXR. We had the Saturn Astra (i think that was the name) Only problem is there is no more Saturn and they didn't have a turbo charged model anyways.
mighty fine.
What's the music at the beginning of the drag race?
+Hasan Bahja Is the main theme from the Van Helsing movie.
@@InfamousTub wondered where i recognised that from
Replicant Battyman One of my favorite movies growing up! I'd recognize that theme anywhere :)
My Astra vxr is now 350bhp 😂😬
Sell it to me
What season and EP is this from? plz I want to watch the full HELP
Did someone else hear the dark knight theme from 3:06?
astra is so good looking mayn
You're joking right?
NakariNova it’s his opinion. Let him have it.
How is the vxr not good looking 😂 megane in liquid yellow does look good aswell the just looks boring
@@andy110492 Haters gonna hate, Astra is good looking
Its great looking but the ENGINE IS SHITE
seems like people still do not understand that the GTI pack in VWs doesnt add power it only adds weight
What on earth are you talking about?
@SlurpSilencer you are truly right, it seems I was too sleepy to notice the "enter" instead of hit. I still tend to think that such cars are not made for real races, they're underpowered and they have non-racing car utilities. Of course, each of them has their own race car model, but still, these cars are made to reach over the standard level of any 2 door car, they have a lower weight, they have lower frames etc and they develop quite some hp. You still can't compare them to racing ones.
Wow, stig really made a hash of that last corner in both the cars....
Sounds like a tie fighter
I am to
The megane has been my first car in gran turismo, great car like the astra. Golf not so good
Astra 😍
I know, even rear wheel. I don't know why they haven't bothered especially with the new Astra J too!
I miss Top Gear
To drive the OPC H, or VXR H, you have to be handy! Between these 3 hatches, yes, I would choose it with eyes closed! Is not as bad as this guy says. It was faster than golf R32 in the track
That's the old MKIV R32...not the MKV. The MkV did it in 1.30.4
Yeah you'd have to have your eyes closed to choose the Astra, you'd never choose it if they were open.
This brings up the topic of use-able power. What's the damn use if the power overwhelms the drive.
@16ats I know, but many people say that in different series there are different Stigs.
Megane......🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝start roket
Opel The Best!
Some say that it causes 30 of accidents on our road a year, by the same driver
and that the sat nav has no use because you'll be somewhere on a field in Dorset.
All we know is it's called the Vauxhall Astra VXR.
Opel❤💪🏼
Taking my license, my driving intructors car is the Astra! Great car, you just can't see shit out of the rear
it nearly killed him!! so you see,it`s a great car,brilliant! :))
I have the 1.9 diesel astra sport Sri with exterior pack, it's no vxr but it's definitely not slow either 🤣
They are slow it's the torque that's fun I had the same car sold it because they handle like a long boat 😂
@HachiZenki you always get quality tires on fast cars.
All 3 of these cars come with either Pirelli P ZEROs or Continental Sport Contacts, so unless you want to spend a lot more on semi slick tires, you can't do any better.